South Plains farmers unsure of extension of farm bill

In a last-ditch legislative effort to avoid a fiscal cliff-induced spike in milk prices, House and Senate agriculture committees leaders agreed on Dec. 31 to extend an amended version of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, for 2008 Farm Bill, for one year.

Without an extension of the 2008 farm bill or new legislation, the expiration of dairy subsidies included in the 2008 bill could have caused milk prices to double within a matter of days.

Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill provides a temporary solution to the possibility of soaring milk prices and provides legal guidelines for the agriculture industry, but is all subject to individual appropriations.

“It may be law, but without funding approval, no one really knows what it will accomplish. We don’t even know a time line, ” said Jackie Smith, Texas Agri-Life extension economist.

While Congress’s intent was to expand the 2008 farm bill through the next crop season, a new bill could be enacted by the incoming Congress as early as March, meaning farmers will be planting crops in the ground not knowing what the farm bill requirements will be at harvest time.

Predictions for how long the 2008 extension will last are as polarized as the two houses of Congress.

“I have all the confidence in the world the 2008 farm bill extension will last a year,” said Steve Verett executive vice-president of Plains Cotton Growers. “Even if another five-year bill is passed, I think we will finish out the next crop season under the current bill.”

While Americans working in the agriculture industry awaited new legislation, members of both the House and Senate agriculture committees, split along party lines, battled over implementation of budget cuts necessary to avoid the fiscal cliff .

“We understand as members of the agriculture industry the fiscal situation our country is in,’ said Verett. “I think that is the most frustrating thing. We were responsible as Americans and as an industry we offered up sacrifices for deficit reduction. And they still couldn’t get a bill passed.”

Several failed legislative attempts included the Senate-proposed Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 and the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012. The bill stalled in the House after passing the Senate, with members of the two houses in a standoff over funding cuts to federal nutrition programs.

Farm bill programs took an across the board cut, according to Verett. “No one was left out. Areas like commodity and conservation titles took much greater percentage cuts than nutrition programs, but because the nutrition program accounts for such a large portion of the costs, it looks like that program was hit much harder.”

Federal nutrition programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAPS, formerly known as Food Stamps, account for over 80 percent of the farm bill’s half-trillion dollar cost over five years.

“Both the Senate and the House Ag Committees proposed cuts to the SNAP program. SNAP serves as a nutrition safety net for many low income families and children,” David Weaver, director of the South Plains Food Bank said.

A version passed of the bill passed by the Senate in June called for cuts of $23 billion over 10 years, while a version passed by the House Agriculture Committee in July would save $35 billion over 10 years. The savings would come from cuts to farm subsidies and by cutting funds and tightening eligibility requirements for federal nutrition programs. .“Cuts are being proposed as a way to balance the budget without considering the impact of the cuts on vulnerable families,” Weaver said.

The cuts proposed by the House Agriculture Committee would have eliminated SNAP availability for more than 3,000 families in the Lubbock area, according to Weaver.

Participation in federal nutrition programs like SNAPS has doubled in number since 2008 and now help feed 47 million people living in the United States.

SNAP is designed to supplement food purchases by recipients, according to Weaver. The elimination of benefits to these individuals coupled with a reduction in benefits for existing clients will increase the number of people needing assistance.

In addition to nutrition program budget cuts, the Senate-backed bill proposed agriculture-related cuts including discontinuiation of direct payments, program consolidation, and a $2 billion annual reduction in land conservation spending and farm subsidies.

The extension of the 2008 Farm Bill will expire on Sept. 30, and is estimated to cost more than $1 million this fiscal year.

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